Mountaineering Legend Reinhold Messner Has 2 World Records Taken Away

Legendary mountaineer Reinhold Messner has had two of his Guinness Book of World Records taken away after a reclassification claims that he never reached the true summit of Annapurna. For decades, Messner has been credited with being the first person to climb all 14 8,000m+ (26,000ft+) peaks. He did this without supplementary oxygen, earning him another title, and has climbed some of these peaks twice.

Between 1970 and 1986, the Italian climber conquered the 14 great peaks, but a reclassification led by German Himalayan chronicler Eberhard Jurgalski, who claims that Messner never reached the ‘true summit’ of Annapurna, has now led to the mountaineering legend losing this title. Instead, the record for the first ascent of all 14 8,000+ peaks has been awarded to American Ed Viesturs, who climbed the 14 great peaks between 1989 and 2005. In an interview with the German Press Association, Messner dismissed Jurgalski’s claim that he had not reached the true summit of Annapurna, saying, “He has no idea. He is not an expert. He just confused the mountain. Of course, we arrived at the summit.”

“I don’t care if my name is in the Guinness Book.”

– Reinhold Messner

It is easy to say for a man who has achieved so much in his lifetime. The 79-year-old was listed a staggering nine times in the Guinness Book of World Records, all being ‘World Firsts.’ Aside from (until now) holding the title of being the first person to climb all 8,000+ mountains and also first without supplementary oxygen, he was the first to climb Mt Everest and K2 without supplemental oxygen (July 12, 1979), the first to solo summit Mt Everest (August 20, 1980), the first to climb Manaslu without supplementary oxygen (April 25, 1972), the first to ascend the top three highest mountains without supplemental oxygen (May 6, 1982), the first 8,000-meter mountain hat-trick (August 2, 1982), and the first to ascend Mt Everest (May 8, 1978) and Gasherbrum I (August 10, 1975) without supplementary oxygen.

The decision by Jurgalski to claim Messner and others had not reached the true summit of Annapurna is based on evaluations of photographs taken at the peak and personal accounts of other climbers. The German chronicler was also instrumental in having Nims Purja’s title of fastest time for the 14 highest peaks struck from the records, which Kristin Harila now holds. Jurgalski is known as a diligent statistician, and his research has led to the Guinness Book issuing the following statement: “The Guinness World Records titles affected by this reclassification of ‘true summits’ have necessarily had to be reset in order to reflect the base-camp-to-summit requirements. This should in no way detract from the incredible pioneering achievements made by some of the most significant mountaineers over the past 50 years; however, in the same way that we require marathon runners to finish the full 42.195-km (26.219-mile) course and circumnavigators to cover at least the 40,075-km (24,900-mile) circumference of the Earth, for a mountain climb to qualify for a Guinness World Records title, we must insist on a base-camp-to-true-summit ascent, as per the updated 8000ers.com guidelines.”

The reclassification takes away titles from other climbers, such as Jerzy Kukuczka, Erhard Loretan, Denis Urubko, Edurne Pasaban, and Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner, some of whom are deceased and cannot defend themselves against Jurgalski’s allegations. What is there to gain from scrapping these names from the (Guinness Record) books, and what is the point of diminishing achievements made many decades ago, using outdated equipment and without digital technology? Can you compare the achievement of someone setting their own lines and summiting a mountain for the first time in leather shoes and woolen socks with someone flying to base camps and having an army of Sherpa set lines and ropes while wearing high-tech gear?

It appears Reinhold Messner does not care. He knows his feats and what it took him to accomplish them. He lost his brother Günther on Nanga Parbat in the Himalayas in 1970. Günther’s body wasn’t found until 2005 when he was given a traditional Tibetan funeral. He has lost fellow climbing friends like Reinhard Patscheider or Friedl Mutschlechner and seven toes to frostbite. His passion has, at times, left him mentally and physically scarred. He was ready to give up when he fell down a crevasse on the Everest solo climb, but his dream of completing the task kept him going, “Climbing Everest solo […] was the hardest thing I’ve done.” He has been to the world’s highest 14 peaks, and some of them several times. He knows his accomplishments, as does the world, and an entry in a book is not important to this legend.